Will we simply return to a presenteeism work culture?

It’s obviously a mixed bag - in my experience it’s mostly been a good one, although I was used to freelancing a lot anyway so I worked from home then.

It just isn't a one-size-fits-all is it?

Work-life patterns change - as they should... people's lives outside the workplace change, too. We evolve and change.

Present-eeism was obnoxious. Sitting in the office well past your designated hours when your energy has been sapped but you are just there so that you can be seen to be there, was a ridiculous culture. A scared and manipulated workforce does not give its best performance.

I think it's a very British / American culture.

It’s a difficult balance isn’t it. I welcomed the fact that people were working from home, there was less traffic on the roads etc etc. But I’m quite a solitary person and couldn’t see the wider picture of people suffering mentally by having to spend their workdays alone with their computer or struggling with having young children around when they’re trying to concentrate. I know my son couldn’t wait to get back to his office and had started to suffer from anxiety, which made me look at the wider picture.

Callistemon21

I wasn't at all rude or snappy.
You obviously didn't read my original post properly.

Yes I did. You were pointing out that not all people work min an office, and also asked if WFH or hybrid was a more efficient way of working. I responded by agreeing that it depends on both your job and your personality and went on to discuss why. I also posed a general question at the end which you seemed to think was addressed to you personally. It wasn't, and I still maintain that your reply was rude and snappy. But maybe you didn't intend to come across like that.

My daughter works for a multinational company, and they will be doing hybrid working permanently. It saves office space, is better for the environment and staff want it following consultation. Two days in work, three at home one week, and the opposite the next week.

MayBee70

It’s a difficult balance isn’t it. I welcomed the fact that people were working from home, there was less traffic on the roads etc etc. But I’m quite a solitary person and couldn’t see the wider picture of people suffering mentally by having to spend their workdays alone with their computer or struggling with having young children around when they’re trying to concentrate. I know my son couldn’t wait to get back to his office and had started to suffer from anxiety, which made me look at the wider picture.

Yes it's about balance and not going for the one size fits all approach. Some people's mental health has improved massively and they've benefitted so much from not having to face long commutes etc. Others have had a different experience.
But as I said previously, it's down to your personality as well as the job you do whether working from home will suit each individual. But there will no doubt be some employers demanding that everyone, no matter the job or circumstance, return to their workplace full time and I think that would be a shame.

I agree.

What about the effect working from home has had on town centre businesses and shops?
So many of them, cafes restaurants, take aways, dry cleaners, rely heavily on the custom of office workers don’t they?

We can all see how towns are struggling already with so many empty premises and for every week which passes the problem is getting worse.

Look how many big names we have lost already, some even before the pandemic, so everything should be done to preserve what we have left, or all we will be left with will be just the large out-of-town retail parks, useful though they are in their own way.

It would be dreadful if town centres up and down the country become ghost towns which no one wants to visit.

JenniferEcles

This is how the world evolves and businesses must adapt their business models to catch up

JenniferEccles

What about the effect working from home has had on town centre businesses and shops?
So many of them, cafes restaurants, take aways, dry cleaners, rely heavily on the custom of office workers don’t they?

We can all see how towns are struggling already with so many empty premises and for every week which passes the problem is getting worse.

Look how many big names we have lost already, some even before the pandemic, so everything should be done to preserve what we have left, or all we will be left with will be just the large out-of-town retail parks, useful though they are in their own way.

It would be dreadful if town centres up and down the country become ghost towns which no one wants to visit.

On the other hand local businesses have thrived, including independent family run shops.

Communities being drained of people all day, as they travel into cities is one of the reasons High streets have struggled.

Bringing everyone back to work in order to create a need for existing services seems the wrong way round. Surely services should respond to evolving needs.

namsnanny ^Bluebelle I disagree with many of your comments.

So far as I understand only those with decent salaries and a home big enough, will benefit.

All that is needed is a chair, table and no distubance. Children can be a disturbance in any size of house.. As for lareg salaries, Why? Yes, to higher heating bills, but yes, also to lower commuting costs, travel, coffees/lunch, work clothes. Bluebelle your comment about costs of heating were not balanced by savings on travelling expenses.

Most employers issue staff with work computers. DD has worked at home for threevery different employers and all issued her with a work computer and all her work was done on them. At the end of the day she shut the work computer down and put it away out of sight and that was work for the day.

Yes, it requires an element of self-discipline, but there is no harm, and much advantage in learning that, if you no longer have it. When DD started working at home, over 10 years ago, she explained her work demands to postman, Hermes drivers etc and told them where to place parcels and rewarded them at Christmas. They give her a cheery wave as the wander pass her study window. As for neighbours. tell them once then ignore them. They will get the message. Washing etc is a questionnof discipline.

I agree. You do not need a massive amount of space to WFH. People who cannot switch off their laptop and put it away are probably the same people who cannot leave the office when their contracted hours are done and leave work emails until the morning. That is a work culture problem, that has been an issue for a long time and has had to be legislated for in France. It is not caused by working from home.

Washing, hoovering etc can be done at lunchtime or while being unable to get on with work until someone has got back to you on something. This is one of the huge benefits of working from home. No time wasted and leaves you free at weekends and evenings to enjoy family time/meet ups with friends/pursuing interests aka having a healthy work/life Balance.

For many workers this is the healthiest way to work. It should not be overlooked because WFH does not suit everyone. Flexibility and balance should be the way forward.

Beswitched

I agree. You do not need a massive amount of space to WFH. People who cannot switch off their laptop and put it away are probably the same people who cannot leave the office when their contracted hours are done and leave work emails until the morning. That is a work culture problem, that has been an issue for a long time and has had to be legislated for in France. It is not caused by working from home.

Washing, hoovering etc can be done at lunchtime or while being unable to get on with work until someone has got back to you on something. This is one of the huge benefits of working from home. No time wasted and leaves you free at weekends and evenings to enjoy family time/meet ups with friends/pursuing interests aka having a healthy work/life Balance.

For many workers this is the healthiest way to work. It should not be overlooked because WFH does not suit everyone. Flexibility and balance should be the way forward.

Good post Beswitched

Thank you Dickens

It's not my job to prop up the likes of Starbucks and greggs, which is what are mostly available in town centres, I realised when I worked from home the amount of money I saved by not going to those places was quite considerable, that money went back into the economy in other ways. Town centres need to make themselves somewhere that people want to go not rely on trapping people there by having to go into the office. They are not charities which I need to support.

I did all my admin, prep and marking at home through choice, anyway, pre-pandemic. It's just so hard to concentrate with chatty people interrupting you at your desk.

The teaching, though, definitely required me to be there - and woe betide me if I was late!

I think the pandemic has provided a great opportunity for both employers and employees to try out new ways of working. Those who've set up home offices, even in gardens (lots built around here) will surely want to continue using them.

Three family members saw little change, though - as already, they could work from almost anywhere in the world, online.

It's good that there's more flexibility and less time and money wasted commuting - far better for the environment too. Things won't just return to their pre-pandemic state and we're more prepared for the next one.

My son came back to live in the UK as he was living in CZ and had been working from home for over a year, restrictions were tight there and he was really low.
He got a job working in the UK but again he was home working.
He hated it, he now has a job in Oslo, he is in the office most days and is so much happier.
Camaraderie is so important, also I think it’s easier to learn and progress when there are colleagues around you.
Great to be able to have the odd day WFH but I don’t think it’s natural to be so solitary.

Beswitched

I agree. You do not need a massive amount of space to WFH. People who cannot switch off their laptop and put it away are probably the same people who cannot leave the office when their contracted hours are done and leave work emails until the morning. That is a work culture problem, that has been an issue for a long time and has had to be legislated for in France. It is not caused by working from home.

Washing, hoovering etc can be done at lunchtime or while being unable to get on with work until someone has got back to you on something. This is one of the huge benefits of working from home. No time wasted and leaves you free at weekends and evenings to enjoy family time/meet ups with friends/pursuing interests aka having a healthy work/life Balance.

For many workers this is the healthiest way to work. It should not be overlooked because WFH does not suit everyone. Flexibility and balance should be the way forward.

My son has desk and computer in his daughters bedroom !

The wfh has worked well for him and his wife, leaving them flexibility for school collecting etc,

I like the idea of hybrid too. It would be nice if crèche from dawn til dusk were not the only option.

Son and daughter in law in Oz also doing hybrid. It works well for them too.

The space that need to work from home varies depending on your role.

Not everybody needs a table and chair in the corner

Customer service and tech support: a room to avoid interruptions by kids, pets, etc

IT: many people in this field use 2 or 3 huge monitors

IT security: a whole set of screens with a server or two - own room

We all adapted the best we could, including employers

The silver lining of pandemic is challenging established and stale work arrangements and learn to think outside the box

The companies are also realizing the amount of money saved in not having overhead expenses like office rental and maintenance, office supplies, etc.

Things are done in a pandemic by both companies and individuals that are inconvenient and save lives.

Now thinga are getting back to normal both companies and individuaals will be assessing the situation and working out what best suits them. The possibility of home working has opened up new patterns of working that hadn't been considered before and different ones will work in different circumstances. DS is an academic and has taught entirely online during the pandemic, he (and students) are glad to be able to return to live lectures, but it has also led them to devlop innovative ways to use online teaching methods to expand and enhance traditional live teaching systems.

I expect there will be a period of adjustment, but what we will end up will not be as before or even during the pandemic but an amalgam of both that will vary from company to company and industry and industry.

I think the Pandemic probably accelerated a change that was coming down the line anyway. With new technology and increasingly long commutes a lot of people were beginning to quietly agitate for more flexibility. It was becoming harder and harder to deny that it was a viable option for many office based jobs, and now the evidence is there that it's possible and has worked for lots of employees without impacting negatively on their work.
Even though there might be an initial full time return in some workplaces, I suspect there are a lot of workers determined to push what is now a half open door and to vote with their feet if there is no change.

If employers who are currently resisting more flexible options want to attract and retain good staff they may have to change their tune.

I worked for a large international IT company in the late 80, early 90’s and often worked from home. No laptops then, just a huge monitor and printer which I carted home in the car and set up in the spare bedroom.. Once a week I would go into the office to collect new work and run stuff through their own system, it worked very well for me. Also I have read that local coffee shops and cafes have seen a huge increase in trade since wfh began. People are also doing some of their work in coffee shops, thus saving on heating.

I would guess that the happiest and most contented people are those who are willing to adapt, adjust, accept.
Those who constantly fight change will struggle.
In my opinion fighting to save the high street is on a hiding to nothing. Offices at home or in small communities facilitated by instant communication via internet, shopping on line or in out of town complexes and car ownership have all made change inevitable.
We need to think outside the box.

It's commercial landlords who are going to be keen for people to go back to working in offices. At least one major bank has more or less halved their office space to save rent and rates. It was moving that way even before covid. Institutions like that will not give a toss whether Starbucks etc. survive.

Ilovecheese

It's commercial landlords who are going to be keen for people to go back to working in offices. At least one major bank has more or less halved their office space to save rent and rates. It was moving that way even before covid. Institutions like that will not give a toss whether Starbucks etc. survive.

... I think you're right about commercial landlords - maybe that is what was behind the "People need to get off their Pelotons and back to their desks" message from Oliver Dowden (Con Party Chairman) at last year's Tory Party Conference. Although I believe this was aimed at civil servants. A sentiment later echoed by Boris Johnson.

It's so obvious that work culture is changing in favour of the work-life balance - and why the heck shouldn't it?

Flexibility is the key, and companies that offer it I'm pretty sure will be more successful than those that won't.

As for the survival of the 'high street' - it will have to adapt to change, it has done previously - remember a time when most shops closed just at the time you were leaving work and you had to use your lunch-hour for shopping, limiting purchases to items that wouldn't de-frost or warm-up during an afternoon in the office or other places of work?